Artemis IV is a planned mission of the NASA-led

Artemis program The Artemis program is a Exploration of the Moon, Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), formally established in 2017 via Space Policy Directive 1. The program's stated long-ter ...

. The mission is proposed to include the fourth use of a

Space Launch System The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American Super heavy-lift launch vehicle, super heavy-lift Expendable launch system, expendable launch vehicle used by NASA. As the primary launch vehicle of the Artemis program, Artemis Moon landing progra ...

(SLS) launch vehicle, sending an

Orion spacecraft Orion (Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle or Orion MPCV) is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used in NASA's Artemis program. The spacecraft consists of a Crew Module (CM) space capsule designed by Lockheed Martin that is paired with a Eu ...

with four astronauts to the

Lunar Gateway The Lunar Gateway, or simply Gateway, is a planned space station which is to be assembled in orbit around the Moon. The Gateway is intended to serve as a communication hub, science laboratory, and habitation module for astronauts as part ...

space station, where they will install the I-Hab module on Gateway, and conduct the second lunar landing of the Artemis program.

Overview

The mission will deliver and install the International Habitation Module (I-Hab) of the

space station. I-Hab is being developed by the

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

and the Japanese space agency

JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into o ...

. The mission will dock I-Hab to the first Gateway elements, the Power and Propulsion Element and Habitation and Logistics Outpost. After docking, astronauts will board a Starship HLS (HLS) vehicle also docked to the station. They will descend to the lunar surface in the HLS lander for a multi-day site inspection. Artemis IV will be the first flight of the Block 1B version of the Space Launch System. For Block 1B the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage used on SLS Block 1 will be replaced with the more powerful

Exploration Upper Stage The Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) is a rocket stage under development for future flights of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). Designed for use on the SLS Block 1B and Block 2 configurations, it will replace the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion ...

, increasing the rocket's

trans-lunar injection A trans-lunar injection (TLI) is a propulsive maneuver, which is used to send a spacecraft to the Moon. Typical lunar transfer trajectories approximate Hohmann transfers, although low-energy transfers have also been used in some cases, as with ...

capability from . This increased performance allows I-Hab to be launched together with the Orion spacecraft. Artemis IV was previously scheduled to launch no earlier than September 2028. However, on 2 May 2025, the Trump administration released its fiscal year 2026 budget proposal for NASA, which calls for terminating the SLS and Orion spacecraft programs after

Artemis III Artemis III is planned to be the first crewed Moon landing mission of the Artemis program and the first crewed flight of the Starship HLS lander. Artemis III is planned to be the second crewed Artemis mission and the first crewed lunar landing ...

and ending the Gateway program, making the future of this mission uncertain. The budget allocates funding for a program to transition to "more cost-effective commercial systems".

Elements

Space Launch System

The Space Launch System is a super-heavy-lift launcher used to launch the Orion spacecraft from Earth to a trans-lunar orbit. This will be the first Artemis mission to use an

SLS Block 1B The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle used by NASA. As the primary launch vehicle of the Artemis Moon landing program, SLS is designed to launch the crewed Orion spacecraft on a trans-lunar t ...

rocket with an advanced

for four upcoming missions until the proposed Artemis IX, which will use SLS Block 2 with advanced boosters.

Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle

Orion is the crew transport vehicle used by all Artemis missions. It comprises the Orion Crew Module and the

European Service Module The European Service Module (ESM) is the service module component of the Orion (spacecraft), Orion spacecraft, serving as its primary power and propulsion component until it is discarded at the end of each mission. In January 2013, NASA announced ...

and will transport the crew from Earth to the Gateway orbit, dock to the Gateway, deliver the I-Hab module to the Gateway, and return them back to Earth.

Gateway

Gateway is a small modular space station to be established in

Near-rectilinear halo orbit In orbital mechanics a near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) is a halo orbit that passes close to the smaller of two astronomical object, bodies and has nearly stable behavior. The CAPSTONE mission, launched in 2022, is the first spacecraft to use ...

(NRHO) in late 2024. The first two Gateway elements ( Power and Propulsion Element and the Habitation and Logistics Outpost) will launch together aboard a

SpaceX Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...

Falcon Heavy Falcon Heavy is a super heavy-lift launch vehicle with partial reusability that can carry cargo into Earth orbit and beyond. It is designed, manufactured and launched by American aerospace company SpaceX. The rocket consists of a center core ...

and spend a year spiraling out to the near-rectilinear halo orbit around the Moon prior to Artemis IV.

Human Landing System

Current Artemis IV mission plans call for use of the SpaceX Starship HLS Option B configuration to support the lunar landing and return to Gateway phase of the mission.

Mobile Launcher 2

The heavier total mass of the SLS Block 1B vehicle requires use of the Mobile Launcher-2 ground support equipment. Current development schedules and challenges experienced by the ML-2 contractor team in the design and delivery of the system have placed this GSE on the critical path from a schedule perspective. Delays to ML-2 availability for use will delay launch of the SLS Block 1B variant. The NASA Office of Inspectior General (OIG) estimates the earliest that ML-2 will be available for Artemis IV is November 2026.

References

External links

{{Future spaceflights 2028 in spaceflight Artemis program Crewed missions to the Moon Orion (spacecraft) Space Launch System 2028 in the United States Missions to the Moon Crewed spacecraft Future human spaceflights Lunar Gateway NASA spacecraft Space stations